Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Monday said Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims and people from certain regions from entering the United States won’t work, and is “counterproductive.”
Johnson also defended President Obama, a day after the presumed Republican presidential nominee criticized his boss for not being more aggressive in fighting terrorism.
“I know from working with him for seven years that his number one priority is the protection of the American people” and protecting the U.S., Johnson said on ABC Tuesday.
“I won’t comment on what the candidates say running for president,” Johnson said when asked about Trump’s recent comments. “I will say that overly simplistic suggestions that we ban people from entering this country based on religion or ban people from an entire region of the world is counterproductive.”
Trump has proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, as well as a ban immigration from anyone from a country with a known history of terrorism against the U.S.
These proposals “will not work,” Johnson said, and he stressed the need to “build bridges” to Muslim communities in America.
Johnson said there are no credible threats of attacks to come in the U.S. following Sunday’s attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 dead and 53 others injured.
“The president’s number one priority, as is mine, is the protection of the homeland, protection of the American people,” he said. “As you know, we’re doing a number of things to do that, both militarily through aggressive law enforcement and homeland security, and we’re going to continue and we’re going to keep at this in this environment of homegrown violent extremism, and that’s what Orlando is looking more and more like.”
He also urged Americans to be “vigilant” and “aware.”
Johnson also threw cold water on the idea that the shooter, Omar Mateen, was directed by the Islamic State. The now-dead shooter reportedly pledged allegiance to the terror group during a 911 call.
“There’s no indication at this point that it was terrorist-directed, as we say in Washington,” he said. “This appears to be yet another tragic terrorist-inspired attack, and it reflects the environment we’re in right now.”
Mateen also appeared to act alone, Johnson said, saying he likely self-radicalized. Though he was under investigation by the FBI in 2013 and 2014, no evidence furthered it.
“We’re in an environment now of self-radicalization,” he explained. “It is almost always the case that when someone self-radicalizes, someone close to them sees the sign, which is why we continue to encourage public awareness, public vigilance.”
